Monetary fines would have been fit and proper redress if brigadier general Jeffrey A. Sinclair had damaged his captains car, or house or earning potential. But his crime was an abuse of his authority against her honor, not her property. For that he should be drummed out of the officer corps, and should serve prison time.

This case illustrates pointedly that the U.S. military still treats sexual predation as youthful indiscretions. But there's no sign that bg Sinclair or the Army is growing out of it. A majority of the U.S. Senate has voted to hand such cases to professional prosecutors, rather than referring them up the chain of command. We shouldn't rest until that's the law.